Blue Note Label Coming Back--with New Notes As Well As Jazz Classics

January 20, 1985|By Tom Moon, Knight- Ridder Newspapers.

``The finest in jazz since 1939`` returns to the record bins next month. Blue Note Records, which bears that slogan and holds a vast catalog of jazz titles, is returning after a seven-year absence with re-releases of vintage sessions and freshly recorded material.

A bold move in the usually conservative jazz record business, Blue Note`s return represents a windfall for jazz aficionados. Classic recordings by Bud Powell, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and others--most long out of print or offered only as imports--will now be widely available.

``We`ve been talking to a lot of retailers,`` says Bruce Lundvall, head of the new Blue Note. ``There`s been a long-standing demand for Blue Note records to reappear, and we`re now offering them constant catalog and long-term shelf life.`` The company expects to release at least 60 titles from its back catalogue during the first year. Among the ``obvious classics that had to be in our first release,`` says Lundvall, are Coltrane`s ``Blue Train,``

In addition, Lundvall and archivist Michael Cuscuna are scanning the Blue Note vaults and expect to issue previously unreleased material recorded during the label`s heyday--the hard-bop era of the late `50s and `60s, when Blue Note was the primary influence in the jazz world. A compilation of trumpet artist Clifford Brown`s alternate takes, Hank Mobley`s ``Far Away Lands`` and Lee Morgan`s ``The Rajah`` make up the first batch of unreleased works.

The Blue Note name has always been one of quality. In addition to the music, the label was noted for its distinctive cover layout and carefully composed photographs. Lundvall lauds the work of engineer Rudy Van Gelder as one of the reasons the label was able to resurface: ``His recording technique was such that it stands the test of time.``

Lundvall plans to stretch the Blue Note legacy into new recording projects. ``We`re going to try and keep the direction of the label consistent with historical Blue Note . . . very serious jazz music,`` he says. ``It`ll be a combination of some exciting new artists and some of the great master players. . . . The future of the label is really based on the new signings.`` Known for his work in establishing the jazz roster at Columbia and Elektra-Musician, Lundvall has already signed tenor saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Stanley Turrentine and young guitarist Stanley Jordan. The first group of new releases will include Jordan`s record debut, a straight-ahead setting featuring saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. and guitarist Kenny Burrell, plus composer George Russell`s new orchestral work, ``The African Game.``

Lundvall`s current wish list includes vocalist Bobby McFerrin, saxophonists Bill Evans and Joe Henderson and flutist James Newton. Evans made his solo debut in a fusion setting for Elektra, and Lundvall is careful to put the fusion movement in perspective.

``I don`t think we can avoid fusion music entirely. The school of musicians working in electronic instrumentation can`t be easily dismissed. The Evans record will be a very serious record.`` He also wants to work with Wayne Shorter, who made a string of provocative Blue Note records in the `60s.

The official coming-out party for Blue Note will be a Feb. 22 concert at New York`s Town Hall that will reunite artists who started their careers at Blue Note as well as those who were associated with the label during its golden years.

``We`re bringing back all that we can find, trying to lasso them into this,`` Lundvall says. There will be four bands--a be-bop band headed by Dexter Gordon and Johnny Griffin, an organ group featuring Jimmy Smith and Stanley Turrentine, a contemporary outfit with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams as the rhythm section, and a collection of new Blue Note artists. The affair will be followed by an all-night jam session.

Another novel project is the ``young Blue Note band.`` As he did with the Young Lions program at Elektra-Musician, Lundvall is assembling a hand-picked group of up-and-coming musicians. ``All the players will be totally unknown, distinctive young voices on their instruments. In a certain sense, it`ll be like a 1980s version of the Jazz Messengers.``

He plans to rehearse this quintet in the coming months, and by spring they will record and tour. ``I think it`s a valid thing for Blue Note to attempt,`` Lundvall says, noting that he spends most of his time listening to music and spends at least two nights a week in the New York clubs.

``I hear a lot of very interesting young players that sound like they have their own voice,`` he says. ``They`re going to move the music ahead.``